Political parties have their own beers.

The Peron Peron bar started the trend when it released its blonde beer, Evita. Now it also offers "Montonero," a dark ale named after the 1970s guerrilla group, and "Double K" in honor of Argentine leader Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her late husband, President Nestor Kirchner.

Across town, the opposition Radical Party has its own brewery, crafting blonde, red and black varieties named after another president, Hipolito Yrigoyen.

Apple products are really hard to find and cost triple what they cost in the United States.

You have to apply to get dollars to leave the country.

Any Argentine wishing to buy dollars to travel abroad must provide their tax-identification number to the tax agency (AFIP) and declare where, when and why they are travel ling. Even after waiting in long queues and filling in stacks of paperwork, would-be travelers are often refused dollars, or granted miserly sums that would hardly cover a souvenir snow-globe. When recently asked to explain how AFIP determines the allotment of dollars, its director bumbled: “It is a formula that is periodically changed that has ingredients from the central bank, AFIP and God. The truth? I can’t explain it because I don’t know exactly how it operates.”